The Ramayana as an Adventure

[Sir Elton]

Q.

How would you feel about a whole adventure made around the Ramayana? Even though a majority of the images aren't Eric Grandma approved? This is 600 BC India I'm talking about here. Most Indian women at this time were not wearing "Grandma" approved clothing.

What I mean is, the Adventures of Rama and Sita would make a great, Grand Campaign. The players play the part of Rama and his kin, or play the part of heroes in Rama's army going off to sack the splendorous city of Ravana just because it's leader kidnapped poor Sita and tried to make her his. (That's the popular explanation anyway). It's India's Trojan War. It has intrigue, heroic feats, True Love, Kidnapping, Chastity, Banishment, Death, Fights, Romance. Everything about an epic tale.

I'm asking because like I said, Ancient female costume in India isn't "Grandma-Approved" or "D20 STL license" approved either -- if you take it literally. India's women went absolutely topless from 2500 B.C. to about 1750 A.D.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Sir Elton I find that the Ramayana is one of the greatest sources of material and ideas for epic-scale campaigns I've ever encountered. While I've never ripped parts of it out and used them in ways that were still recognizable I have liberally picked it over for themes, locations, characters, and the behavior of gods and semi-divine heros all the time.

 

[Turjan]

That would be great, although I don't think that playing a story is very satisfying. But something similar to the Ramayana should be truly epic. As most players probably don't know the story, an attempt to replay it would probably be futile, anyway. Which is good .

It would be interesting to see what will be left of all the virtues and selflessness that are at the center of the story .

 

[shilsen]

Personally, I don't like even partly pre-planned stories in the game, so I think it might be okay for one adventure but not a campaign.

The fact that I've always considered Rama a self-centered, self-righteous prig doesn't help matters. Or that the Mahabharata is, IMNSHO, astronomically finer as an epic, as a story, with regard to characterization, etc.

 

[lkj]

I recently finished reading a very well done prose translation of the Ramayana, and much of the time I was thinking what great material it would make for a campaign. It's very rich with D&Dish happenings.

Here's my caveat though-- I wouldn't use it as is. I mean, I wouldn't have Rama involved in it at all. In essence, I'd remove the religious drive that runs through the tale. There's too much certainty of the outcome there for a D&D campaign. And I think it would be very unsatisfying to play second fiddle to Rama. Instead, I envision a campaign based roughly on the events of the Ramayana.

For instance, one of the things that happens when Rama is exiled to the jungle is that he begins clearing the jungle of various Rakshasa's. Eventually he encounters a relative of Ravana and slays that relative and his army (well slays the brother-in-law). This eventually leads to Ravana hearing about Sita and kidnapping her. From there we have the tales that eventually lead to the war in Lanka.

So-- Find some reason for the party to be in the jungle. Maybe it's as simple as being hired to protect the rishis there. Set the party up against a couple of weaker Rakshasa's (note-- I'd probably develop a whole series of various CR Rakshasas besides the one in the MM. I think there are others now in official sources but I'm not positive). When the party defeats those, have this attract the attention of increasingly more powerful demons, eventually leading to a confrontation with Ravana's relative. Etc.

That way as they build in level they build in adversaries, much as Rama's adversaries get stronger throughout the epic. I'd swap out the kidnapping of Sita for something less specific. Maybe he kidnaps a princess whom the party is escorting through the jungle or some such. Easy enough. Basically, I'd just be removing all the pre-defined outcomes.

Anyway, ramble ramble. In short I think it's a great idea. As for the 'non-grandma friendly' outfits. Not really sure I understand the relevance of that. If you want that as part of your scenery, go for it. It's neither here nor there as far as the meat of the tale in my opinion.

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[Sir Elton]

I'm looking for historical accuracy. Believe it or not, the Indians invented the Brassiere, but it never did catch on for perpetuity.

 

[Stormborn]

I'm looking for historical accuracy. Believe it or not, the Indians invented the Brassiere, but it never did catch on for perpetuity.

I think that what other people are saying in regards to the topless women is this: how does it impact an adventure? Are you planning on page after page of illustrations of topless women? The margins of Conan (IIRC) have that. So what. Are you going to remind the players in every section of read-aloud text or description that "oh, and the women are all topless"?

Basically, its a nonissue for most anyone. If you make to big a deal about it [the topless issue] you are likely to alienate any potential female customers/players or make it look like all you care about is the salacious elements of the tale and thus alienate any other customers/players who might want a serious mythic India-themed adventure. If the most memorable thing about a Ramayana inspired adventure is the topless girls then I, and lots of other people who might buy it otherwise, are going to pass.

Instead you should likely be more concerened with playability. I, like lkj, would be interested in a campaign where the PCs had a chance to basically go on a Rama-like quest with mythic Indian trappings and do similar things to the main characters. I would not be interested in a railroad that was basically a scripted Ramayana.

 

[Sir Elton]

Actually, I'm one those who think that the majority of Americans should throw their clothes away. Permanently. That includes brave Gamers who want to have the freedom of being "barefoot allover" and the freedom of not being judged by their peers. Then again, stereotypical Gamers are a very out of shape bunch. But maybe getting rid of those useless things will spur them into physical activity.

All that aside, I had this discussion on the necromancer boards, and one guy said that both aught to be done. First of all, every Red-Blooded American male teenager that buys a copy will be exposed to history. Second of all, they will be exposed to what "they" look like and not attach a sexual association to "them." Thirdly, Teen-aged american girls who buy a copy will realize that they won't have to emphasize "them" to get attention since they will see all shapes of "them" being exposed to the elements. Especially if I have the artists draw every woman to be any shape, size, or age. And fourthly, the girls will also be exposed to History.

OF course, I'm one of those who doesn't think that the Ramayana is the true account of what happened. Indologists have a different perspective. They think it's the story of a slaughter and the destruction of one of the glorious cities in Indian 6th Century BC history; which happens also to be the year of the birth of Buddhism.

I think the best way of presenting it is as a Campaign Option. A one shot thing: a world based on Mythological, or Epic India of far away. Then provide models based on the epics of India. Based on what everyone is telling me, they want Options rather than a scripted story. Which is fine.

 

[lkj]

Well, ok. I'll just state my opinion then-- Whether or not any such supplement included topless women or not would be completely irrelevant to whether I'd find such a supplement useful. Maybe this is because I don't think it's a big deal. As for its potential social impact on 'red-blooded American males' and women, I can't imagine it would have much of an impact. But that's just my opinion.

I think the idea of presenting it as a campaign option is a pretty good one. Heck, I'm in the market for a comprehensive Indian setting-- I'm aware of the OA web enhancement and Sahasra. Just haven't captured my imagination as such. Right now I'm leaning toward developing my own in-house version. If I get the time . . .

At any rate, good luck. I'd certainly give any such product a look.

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[shilsen]

I'm looking for historical accuracy.

So no talking monkeys, flying chariots, magical arrows and the like?